The Press., 1887-10-13
THE ZULU CHIEFTAIN.
A VISIT TO CETEWAYo, UNDER y. GUARD AT CAPE TOWN. ..

A Brave Old Fellow Dauntless In De-
 feat-The Sable MOnarch's Seven Wives.
 Climax of Kingly Gratitude-An Un-
 pleasant Predicament.
 Two years later met Cetewayo, the Zulu chief, in the garden, rndCr British pr,:: ,.ction. Knowing the colonial secrc- tary, 1 obtained permission to visit his majesty at the residence assigned to him by gOvernment-a plain, scantily fur nished ftrm house, fourteen miles from town, near n station called Wyubcrg.
 He was attired in Zulu full dress, con- gisting of necklace of lions and chee- tahs' claws and gorgeous leopard skin, worn skirt fashion, and as he rose to his full height to respond to my salute and receive my little donation he looked in truth-what even loss of power, need say liberty, could not deprive him of every inch king, savage as of old, when in his ttIys of undisputed sway, master of life and death over thousands the royal ':kOom,' the salute of 8 welcoming people, t.lundcred in his ear; then R conqucror, now q prisoner.
 Somehow felt sorry for the brave old fellow, who could meet defeat so daunt- lcssly, and must have shown it-for he took Ely hand when the interpreter told | him that 1 was not of the nation of his l cOnquerors, and gave it right royal
 
 the queen and prince of Wales with a lot | of ostrich feathers eon his approaching | visit (j.)ring of 1SS2) to England, but he | gave but q mournful smile, shook his head l and pointed to his surroundfngs plainly furnished room, a few wicker seats, | table and a colossal arm chair, the poor | old fellows throne, and mournfully ex- | clairlcI, "This is all I have" I felt sorry | l had mentioned the subject, and with an other hearty grip of the royal hand which | I partially cVaded l took my departure | for the day. His majesty expressed de- | sire to see me again.
 THE MONARCH's SEVEN WIVES. 1 A few weeks later called to bid him farewell business demanding my return to Kimberly. had brought with me as a parting gift, dog-a handsome New | oundlander-having learned that he had often expressed a wish for one. Cetewayo on this occasion wore navy blue suit of serge and a Zanzibar fez cap made of canel's hair. I had to endure the shake again, but suffered gladly for the sake of | witnessing his delight to behold one who was not of d people he hated. His voice rang out in avolume of sound that caused a stampede ill an adjoining room, and seven merry, twinkling, mischievous pairs of black eyes looked in to see what was the topic of discussion. But royal roar ! | ion, their fat black faces disappearing like startled lawns at lions roar, one falling l over the other in their hurry to obey. I l thought his majesty was jealous of letting | strangers eyes behold his merry wives, for they were lightly attired-clad Zulu fashion in a coat of shining, not very aro- matic oil numerous anklets, bracelets and necklets and gigantic earrings, all made of large white and blue beads. l I laf l he had seen and highly approved of the l 1og-his delight was unbOunded. The | merry hnrem was called in, and 1 beheld 1 their majesties of Zululand, and royal l specimens of their people they were each able to vanquish three or four of the stout est white men in Africa, so the king | proudly stated. I didn't express any doubts. They were too near and the aroma was strong The climax of kingly grati- tude was reached when his sable majesty | offered me the choice of one of the lot. To 1 quote the interpreters literal translation: | "Oh, stranger, you have gladdened the heart of the frendless king, and he loves you like a brother. In his own land he would say: Behold here mine, the king's kraal Three hundred wives are there and l 5000 head of cattle. Take of my abun- dance, for the kings brother is welcome to all But my kingdom is gone, though my heart remains. I would honor you as king would like to do honor to a friend. He has only the seven gazelle eyed daugh- ters of his people. He loves them and rlings to them, but take the one that pleases you best, oh, my brother, and if I return to my land my people shall do thee honor and will welcome thee.'''
 AN UNPLEASANT PREDICAMENT.
 Momentarily I was paralyzed. An other wife! Jerusaleml and black oneI Well, I thanked his majesty for the in- tended honor, told him that ''my seraglio'' was already OverstOcked; in my country four Was the maximum man of moder- 1 ate fortune could we'll manage to handle. However, I thanked him kindly. What the interpreter told him I never could as- certain; suffice it to say that the whole royal crowd abandoned their dignity and laughed till tears started, and three picka- ninnics commenced to bawl. Cetewayo wanted to shake hands and the youngest merry septuple wanted to hug me. l evaded both by producing another lot of confectionery and calm was restored. But night was drawing nigh and had to say goodby. I've often felt sad at partings, but seldom have been more touched than ! at that tine
 Merciless, savage, cruel, relentless foe, the English called him. judge not He may have cause to be so, but l had found him gentle and kind to those that wished him well and could see no sign of cruelty displayed towards his wives. Their last act was to present me with a lot of bead work necklaces, anklets, etc, while the parting gift of the stern old warrior, who had lost his kingdom and had so little left to give-waS the necklace of cheetah and lions claws and the camel's hair cap from ?. Zanzibar. I have both, and shall never part with the gifts of my savage black friends Another shake of the hand, and stood it bravely-an round the circle this time-and I mounted my horse Nnd galIoped towards Cape Town. Once looked around and I saw them standing as had left them-the black lang shading his eyes against the setting sun, the dog fawning by his side; in the background, on the threshold of his home, his wives, ''thc antelope eyed daughters of his people, , who loved him and had followed him into exile A mist came into my eyes and saw them no more.-Cor. Phladel- phia Times
 John Chinaman's Pen.
 The pen with which John makes hia tea marks is a curiosity. It is a hair brush l !.